Six ways the Danish Presidency can invest in children and youth for a sustainable future  

From Ukraine to Gaza, Sudan to the Sahel, Haiti to Colombia, armed conflicts are marked by widespread, appalling violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Civilians now account for nearly 90% of war casualties. Attacks on hospitals, schools, and humanitarian workers continue to rise, and access to lifesaving aid is being blocked—often deliberately. Between January and October 2024, 2,135 conflict-related attacks on health facilities were reported worldwide, leaving 605 of them damaged and 488 health workers dead.  

The strength of legal rules depends on the political will to enforce them. To reverse the decline in respect for the rules-based international order, the Danish Presidency must scale up the EU’s political and humanitarian diplomacy. Denmark’s commitment to global security should drive renewed EU-wide efforts to uphold international humanitarian law, protect civilians, prevent atrocities, and end impunity.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to:

1. Respect IHL Compliance: Ensure full implementation of EU guidelines on promoting compliance with IHL, using all tools available. Demand full accountability for perpetrators of war crimes. As part of this, encourage member states to join the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)- –led  initiative to strengthen political commitment to humanitarian law.
2. Strengthen the EU Global Observatory on Impunity: Actively support and strengthen the EU’s Global Observatory on the Fight Against Impunity as a driver of collective and accountable action against serious violations, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
3. Protect Civilians and ensure unrestricted Humanitarian Access to people in need: Champion access to humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians in all contexts, with special focus on the rights and safety of women and girls.

Globally, one in six children now lives in or are fleeing conflict zones. The scale and intensity of armed conflict are escalating, leaving children and youth increasingly exposed to trauma, violence, and the breakdown of essential services like education, healthcare, and protection. In 2024, conflict-related violence against children rose 25% from 2023. The UN verified 41,370 grave violations affecting 22,495 children. Over 400 million now need protection, with girls at greater risk.

These violations have lasting impacts on children and youths’ health, wellbeing, and development. Investing in education, MHPSS, and child protection is vital for survival, dignity, and long-term development—building resilience as a foundation for recovery and inclusive growth. These efforts are central to the humanitarian-development-peace nexus and key to addressing fragility in crisis settings.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to:

1. Prioritise child protection across EU humanitarian and development responses:  Champion the protection of children and youth across EU-supported humanitarian efforts by ensuring accountability to protection standards and promoting approaches that combine education, mental health, health, nutrition, and child protection—ensuring no one is left behind due to fragmented responses.
2. Advance swift and comprehensive implementation of the updated EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict: Operationalise the revised EU Guidelines by supporting EU delegations and partners to enhance monitoring, reporting, and response—strengthening EU leadership in protecting children. 
3. Ensure the continuation of at least 10% of the EU Humanitarian Budget for Education in Emergencies (EiE): Champion the prioritisation of EiE in the upcoming EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) negotiations, ensuring sustained EiE funding for millions of crisis-affected children.

This Presidency arrives at a pivotal moment for redefining how the EU leverages public–private partnerships to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the Global Gateway Strategy becomes a cornerstone of the EU’s development cooperation, Denmark’s focus on leveraging private sector partnerships for development is both well-timed and strategically aligned. 

Closing the global financing gap and accelerating development requires targeted private sector engagement, impact investing, and tools like blended finance. Denmark and the EU should lead in advancing responsible private sector collaboration by scaling support for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME), promoting climate-smart and inclusive business models, and improving risk assessments tailored to local contexts.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to:

1. Embed the SDGs in Global Gateway Implementation: Ensure that the Global Gateway delivers on inclusive, sustainable development by embedding SDG targets across all public–private partnerships—especially in fragile and low-income contexts.
2. Promote Local Value Creation and Job Generation: Champion investments that prioritise local production, decent work, and value retention in partner countries. To support this, prioritise funding for technical support to help local actors develop sustainable, investment-ready projects.
3. Support MSMEs and Inclusive Financing Models: Support financing mechanisms that enable smaller, high-impact investments – particularly for MSMEs and local entrepreneurs in Least Developed Countries – while promoting civil society collaboration for inclusive, rights-based, and sustainable investments.
4. Champion Catalytic Capital in the Next MFF: Advocate for stronger commitments to catalytic capital in blended finance that mobilises commercial capital, supports gender-responsive innovation, and  SDG-aligned investments.

An inclusive multilateral system must reflect global diversity, yet civil society—especially youth- and women-led groups from the Global South—remains underrepresented.

Civil society brings vital local knowledge and community ties, helping shape inclusive, sustainable investments. By bridging communities, governments, and the private sector—especially where MSMEs lack access to capital—their involvement enhances transparency, accountability, and impact, key to initiatives like the EU’s Global Gateway.

The Danish EU Presidency can lead by advocating for meaningful Global South representation in EU and UN processes—through direct participation, co-created policy, and equitable access to funding and influence.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to:

1. Champion Civil Society Inclusion: Advocate for reforms within EU and UN systems that institutionalise civil society participation in agenda-setting, policy design, and implementation— particularly for Global South youth- and women-led organisations. 
2. Ensure Direct and Flexible Funding for CSOs: Prioritise accessible, predictable, and diversified funding for civil society in the next MFF, with dedicated support for locally led women’s rights and youth organisations.
3. Institutionalise Youth Participation: Continue tosupport resourcing of Youth Sounding Boards in partner countries, the implementation of the EU Youth Action Plan, and ensure youth voices are systematically included in EU Council deliberations and Team Europe Initiatives. 
4. Facilitate Business–CSO Partnerships: Advocate for EU development frameworks that foster business–CSO collaboration to ensure inclusive, locally relevant investments.

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right—it is also a powerful driver of economic growth, democratic resilience, and sustainable development. However, a global backlash fuelled by polarisation, shrinking civic space, and rising anti-rights groups threatens girls’ and women’s—especially adolescents’—sexual and reproductive health (SRHR), political participation, and civic engagement.

Investing in gender equality—through care, education, economic empowerment, and SRHR—can significantly boost global GDP, yet it remains overlooked in macroeconomic and financial planning.

Unlocking gender equality’s potential requires systemic reforms in financing, measurement, and prioritisation, aligned with the EU Gender Action Plan III and upcoming IV. Denmark can champion this transformative agenda, connecting economic growth with gender justice. 

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to:

1. Strengthen Access to Gender-Responsive Financing: Expand direct, flexible funding for women’s rights organizations and locally led initiatives. This includes supporting the care economy, SRHR, and youth-led gender equality movements.
2. Integrate Gender into Macroeconomic Tools: Advocate for the inclusion of gender indicators in tax policy, debt relief frameworks, and public financial management systems. This will ensure that fiscal policies support gender equality rather than undermine it.
3. Promote Private Sector Accountability: Encourage partnerships with businesses that commit to gender equality in their operations and supply chains. Use EU trade and investment tools to incentivise inclusive business models.

A decade after the Paris Agreement, climate finance —like the $300 billion annual target by 2035—offer hope but still fall short of urgent needs in developing countries. This gap is a critical opportunity for the EU and Member States to lead with bold, innovative funding for renewables, adaptation, and loss and damage.

Despite integrating climate action into its external investments, the EU has fallen short of its 30% target, with only 23.8% of NDICI-GE funds supporting climate objectives between 2021–2023. As political momentum wanes ahead of  30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) Denmark’s leadership—rooted in its green innovation and development expertise—can help steer a more inclusive EU approach.

By focusing climate finance on vulnerable communities and private sector solutions, the Danish Presidency can advance the EU’s global role through locally driven investments.

We call on the Danish Presidency and EU institutions to:

1. Advance EU Climate Commitments: Submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) ahead of COP30 which recognises the disproportionate impact of the climate change on children and youth, especially girls, and ensure that these issues are addressed in updated National Adaptation Plans (NAP).  
2. Targeted Climate Finance: Prioritise finance for those most affected—women, girls, children, and marginalised groups – by embedding gender equality, women’s empowerment, and intergenerational equity.

3. Scale Up Climate Finance & Job Creation: Expand climate finance through civil society and private sector partnerships to support youth resilience, green jobs, and sustainable livelihoods—focusing on renewables, adaptation, circular economy, WASH-agriculture, water access, and climate-smart tech.
4. Champion Children’s Climate Action: Encourage all member states to join the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action to accelerate inclusive, child- and youth-centred climate policies.